>> back here at 11:00. good night. on the broadcast tonight -- making the case. after days of attacks, the president takes on the critics to take back the message on health care. where was the anger? safety in the skies -- two air traffic comptrollers are suended after the midair collision. safety officials are arguing over what has got to change. >> aecond chance. michael vick after serving time is back in the game. can he turn things around? a final farewell to eunice kennedy shriver. and moving words from her daughter maria. and unlocking a secret of sleep. and unlocking a secret of sleep. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. i'm ann curry in for brian williams tonight.

the presidt was squarely taking on the anger we have seen in recent weeks over health care reform. flying to a townhall in a conservative part of montana. the audience we were told was not prescreened. the meeting was more like a campaign rally than debate over health care. the president even getting a standing ovation. we have the story covered tonight beginning with the chief white house correspondent chuck todd now joining us from belgrade, montana, chuck. good evening, ann. the president finished up the first of what are going to be back to back townhall meetings here out west. colorado happens tomorrow. all of this part of an opportunity to try to regain the political momentum in his push for health care reform. >> reporter: president obama came to the hills of montana with his entire family in tow, for what was billed as a townhall on health care but at times felt more like a campaign rally. >> hello, montana! >> reporter: president obama was reminiscent of candidate obama at times as he worked the audience. >> so i need you to keep knocking on doors, talking to

your neighbors, spread the facts. >> reporter: the president did take questions from a mostly supportive audience not before offering his media critique of how town halls have been covered this week. >> tv loves a ruckus. what you haven't seen on tv and what makes me proud are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country. >> reporter: mindful of tuesday's relatively tame new hampshire townhall, the president avoided calling on anyone who could easily be viewed as a supporter. so he found randy rathy wearing a national rifle association shirt. >> and we keep getting the bull. that's all we get is bull. you can't tell us how you are going to pay for this. >> you are absolutely right that i can't cover another 46 million for free. >> reporter: the president went on to reiterate his pledge not to raise taxes on families making $250,000 or less, but said t wealthy would have to pay more. >> that's what i said. i said for people like myself

who make more than that, there is nothing wrong with me paying a little bit more in order to help people who have got a little bit less. >> reporter: after the townhall, rathy, a mccain voter, who drove 30 miles across the state to be here, said he wasn't convinced the president could fulfill his promise. >> i want him and max bachus to say here's where the money is. i am afraid where it is coming from out of our taxpayers' pockets again. >> reporter: today's townhall held in an an airplane hangar easily secured from the public. while the requisite protestors were gathered a half mile away, the demonstration never got out of hand. back at the townhall, mr. obama was also challenged by a man who sells individual health insurance. >> why is it that you have changed your strategy from talking about health care reform to health insurance reform and decided to vilify the insurance companies? >> okay, that is a fair question. my intent is not to vilify insurance companies.

right. what i said is let's work with the existing system. >> reporter: all right, tomorrow ann, another townhall in grand junction, colorado, a conservative part of that state. buthe tickets were handed out a little bit differently there. we'll see what kind of reception he gets. ann. chuck todd tonight. chuck, thanks for your reporting. now with perspective on today's townhall, we are joined by david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david, given the events of today, how important will it be for the president to continue to hold the town halls on health care reforms to counteract the negative publicity of recent weeks? >> vitally important in this respect, ann. the president wants to regain control of the debate. you heard what he said during chuck's reporting that in his estimation, cable tv, tv in general, likes the ruckus, just likes the conflict and is overlooking some of the more constructive engagement, constructive debate going on around the country. the president wants to separate what he could call extremism from the core of the debate, regain control, reassure americans about what he is trying to do and keep health care reform on track. think of the geography as well.

he is out in a part of the country with more conservative moderate democrats, independent voters. he wants to keep them on board. so he has democrats, supporting him, in case he can't get bipartisan reform passed. at the same time, david, at today's rally there were notably fewer seniors who have been very vocal, does the president have to reassure seniors for his agenda to succeed? >> it is an important part of it. yeah, you saw a single mother in the crowd today. you saw younger working people. seniors are mobilized, they vote, they get in touch with their members of congress. they can have a lasting impact here. a determinative impact, if this can succeed. it happened with president bush's social security reform. so the ability of the president to say to the older americans, who have medicare that their care will not be impacted and they're not going to have to pay more becomes very important. that's if he can make good on the pledge. nbc's david gregory of "meet

the press" thank you so much tonight. now to the latest on the midair collision above the hudson river. two air traffic comptrollers have now been suspended for their behavior last saturday, the day of the disaster that killed a total of nine people. the ntsb says one of the comptrollers was on a nonbusiness phone call at the time. and a supervisor supposed to be there had left to run an errand. nbc's tom costello has more to night on this story from washington. hey, tom, good evening. ann, it is not at all clear that these particular comptrollers' actions in any way contributed to this crash. this was happening as the plane was being handed over from a small airport, a regional airport, called teterboro over to newark airport. that pilot may have missed some critical messages about air traffic. but the faa and ntsb both say the comptrollers' actions are very disturbing. the ntsb tells nbc news, the teterboro comptroller handling air traffic saturday morning made a nonbusiness related phone call after clearing the pilot of the small plane for departure.

the ntsb says the teterboro comptroller told the pilot to contact newark airport but failed to advise him of air traffic in the area. a newark comptroller did see the traffic but had not heard from the plane yesterday. newark asked teterboro's comptroller still on the phone to steer the pilot away. we have no reason to believe at this time that these comptrollers' actions contributed to the accident. but today the new ntsb chief had a sharp response. >> it is too early to speculate whether or not atc was cause sal -- causal in this accident and it is inappropriate for others to do so. >> reporter: the faa? >> yes. >> veteran air traffic comptrollers insist multitasking is part of the job. >> air tffic comptrollers can never have a bad day, a bad day as an air traffic comptroller

could result in the loss of hundreds of lives. >> reporter: while the faa and ntsb face-off, questions persist about whether the hudson river ace space is too complicated and too dangerous without air traffic control below 1,100 space. in the airspace today, pilots were warning each other of their locations. >> coming up chelsea northbound. >> chelsea northbound traffic, 600, a course reversal, i will be southbound again. >> all right, i've got you. coming over top of you now. >> reporter: today the transportation department announced it is now studying whether more faa oversight is needed with recommendations expected in two weeks. >> this is not your father's department of transportation. or your mother's department of transportation. this is president obama's department of transportation. >> reporter: again today, the nation's top safety chief called on the faa to act on some of the 400 aviation safety recommendations the ntsb has submitted. >> years and years to get through a recommendation is simply too long. if those recommendations are not

implemented then we have risks to lives. >> reporter: moments ago i got a phone call from the union representing the comptrollers at newark. they are now disputing the ntsbs timeline of events, but, ann, they do not dispute that that comptroller was on a personal phone call. back to you. tom costello tonight. tom, thanks. after serving hard time for running a dog fighting ring, nfl quarterback michael vick is back in the game. he is getting a second chance, signed to a contract with the philadelphia eagles. and he is promising he will not disappoint on or off the field. but already his fresh start is running into some push back. our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: michael vick's appearance today as the newest member of the philadelphia eagles met with mixed response. most of it negative. >> i am appalled. >> he doesn't deserve to be playing at all. >> reporter: the local paper warning "hide your dogs" and

asking "what are they thinking?" a subdued vick told reporters he was thinking about redemption. >> i made some mistakes done some terrible things, made a horrible mistake. and now i want to be part of the solution and not the problem. >> reporter: vick has just finished serving 18 months in federal prison for bankrolling a dog fighting ring that many animals did not survive. >> sack michael vick! his crime sparked angry protests. >> sack michael vick! >> reporter: the nfl suspended him indefinitely. a humiliating fall for a star quarterback once the league's highest paid player. >> i committed an act that was cruel and it was unethical, it was, you know, inhumane, and you know so i understand to a certain degree. but, you know our country is a country of second chances. you know, i paid my debt to society. >> reporter: today some of vick's most vocal critics are not buying it. >> i don't think he should have been signed. i think remorse is a process not just words. you come out, you served your time, you go into the community d you show with deeds that you are truly sorry.

>> michael vick has a $1 million contract but still not allowed to play in official games. the nfl commissioner will decide when he can take the field with the eagles several weeks from now. after the regular season begins. meanwhile, football fans have strong feelings on both sides. >> he is not the monster that everybody makes him out to be. >> just didn't like the idea. him being on the team. >> from the eagles' perspective, the risk-reward is a little curious. even if he helps them. ultimately you will have t answer a lot of michael vick questions for the year. and that's going to be a distraction. >> reporter: vick was an elusive player on the field. his biggest challenge now to outrunis critics and redefine his image. ron allen, nbc news, philadelphia. a big bank failure to report tonight. colonial bank group based in montgomery, alabama, being put into receivership by the fdic. its deposits and branches will be taken over by north carolina, based bb & t. colonial had $25 billion in

assets making it the fifth largest bank failure in u.s. history. it is expected to cost the fdic insurance fund $2.8 billion. the labor department said today consumer prices are falling this year at the fastest pace in 59 years. the consumer price index down 2.1% in july from a year ago, arsh 1e stntpemoop2 h dr since 1950. on wall street today, stocks lost groun>> but closed well off the lows of the day. the dow finishing down under 77 points. when "nightly news" continues on this friday evening, are scientists getting closer to unlocking the secret of how much sleep we actually need? later, making a difference, a team effort to help young people facing an uphill battle to get an education. ort to help young people facing an uphill battle to get an education. r-linking, blind-spot-penetrating side mirrors of the all-new ford taurus. so what doesn't show up in your mirror, can still show up on your mirror.

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lynette "squeaky" from, who tried to assassinate gerald ford was released today from a lynette "squeaky" fromme, who tried to assassinate gerald ford was released today from a federal prison. fromme pointed a handgun at president ford as he shook hands in a crowd during a 1975 visit to california. she later said she didn't really want to kill him. she was granted parole after 34 years in prison based on good conduct. today california officials declared a state of emergency in santa cruz county as a wildfire that has forced more than 2,000 people from their homes continues to burn out of control. about 4 1/2 square miles have been scorched in this fire, just one of several burning in both southern and northern california. we have all heard about the lucky people who seem to be able to get by just fine on very little sleep. sometimes just a few hours a night.

well, now a new study may explain why. and it is being called a breakthrough. our chief science correspondent robert bazell now joins us with more on this. bob. good evening, ann. scientists have always known different people require different amounts of sleep and they assumed a big reason is genetics. now in a mother-daughter combination, researchers found the gene, apparently carried by 3% of the population, that allows people to get by on six hours of sleep instead of the recommended eight. there have been other genes associated with sleep that cause insomnia and affect the biological clock. the hope is by studying those genes, the scientists will learn more about sleep itself. even though we all sleep it is one of the least understood biological phenomenon. unfortunately for the foreseeable future, there is no way to get at the effects of the six-hour gene, even though a lot of people would like it. and i would imagine especially you, when you have to get up for the "today" show and do "nightly news." >> thanks a lot. well, hopefully that day will come someday. bob bazell, thank you so much. when we come back, the tributes today for one of the last members of an american political dynasty, the kennedys.

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and the life you want to live. back now with today's final good-bye to eunice kennedy shriver. the founder of the special olympics and sister to the late president kennedy. family, friends, and so many people whose lives were changed gathered in cape cod to pay tribute. again tonight, nbc's andrea mitchell joins us with more on this emotional gathering. andrea. ann, good evening. eunice kennedy shriver reached the finish line in her own olympics today at the church where her daughters were married and her brothers jack, bobby and

teddy were once altar boys. >> reporter: they came from near and far to the kennedy family church in hyannis to celebrate the life of eunice kennedy shriver. ♪ the famous and not very famous, celebrities and the special needs people she championed. >> i will never forget the day that i was sick and in the hospital. a call game and it was eunice saying to me, "how do you feel?" and i knew i had a friend through sorrow, through pain. >> reporter: a fearless warrior for the voiceless and the ultimate role model for her children. to them she was mummy, devoted to family and faith, but hardly conventional. >> most of theothers were dressed up, kind of neatly coifed. mummy wore men's pants, smoked cuban cigars and played tackle football. >> reporter: she found time to be a best friend to all her children and 19 grandchildren. >> grandma, thank you for

watching "mermaids" with me, having magical tea parties, many competitive sailing adventures. >> for the young and old people who have yet to discover their passion in life, may grandma's example of courage, faith and commitment, guide them to find their calling. >> reporter: unable to join his family today, brother ted kennedy, until eunice's final weeks he visited her every day. >> just he and eunice, a late afternoon drink, out on the patio, overlooking nantucket sound in a home and area filled with so many memories for the both of them. >> i think if i said to my mother, which i often did, i can't go on without you, i don't know how to live without you. she would say "you are fine. i have raised you well. now get out there. i don't want to hear one more yip. get going. your brothers will be nice to you." >> reporter: saying his last farewell after 56 years of rriage, husband, sarge shriver now living with alzheimers. ♪

after the funeral service there was a private burial here in hyannis, she was surrounded by her family and the special olympians she loved. and bono sent a trio of irish musicians to play bob dylan's "forever young." >> very touching reporting. thank you so much. andrea mitchell tonight. when we come back, making a difference for young people and the love of a game. when we both decide. announcer: today, guys with erectile dysfunction can be ready with another dosing option from cialis. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. so relax and take your time. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if youe healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury seek immediatmedical

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time now for our "making a difference" report. tonight, a community with a proud heritage and a rich history in this country. despite their great legacy, native americans faced serious obstacles including, high unemployment and lack of higher education. in the middle of the country, one man is trying to make a difference for the next generation. nbc's miguel amaguillere has more on our story from dewer, oklahoma. >> reporter: for these teenagers, baseball is more than

just a game. it's for love of the game. a program that gives native american students a swinging chance at college through sports and academic mentorship. lucas taylor, a muskogee indian, found ed for love out of the game five years ago. he helped hundreds in his tribe, break into higher education. his sports tournaments bring s to offer.what the country >> i never thought i would be in new york. see niagara falls, do something i have never done before. >> for the players, the trips are free. but the exposure to new life experiences is priceless. many of the students in the program come from humble beginnings. homes without running water or even electricity. small cities scattered across oklahoma. >> we have to have a hook to get our kids in. the hook is sports.

>> break! >> once we get them here we teach them life skills and talk about education. >> reporter: numbers are sobering, statistics show only 10% of native americans go to college. and of that 10%, only about half aduate. elena harley beat those odds. a star softball player she is the only one in her family to go to college. and when her father died and her mother was sent to prison, she was left to raise her younger sister alone. >> i see that they believe in me. and it's definitely making me more determined and making me want few succeed at everything i want to do. >> this is a platform that we can use, a springboard to the rest of our lives. >> repter: for lucas taylor and for love of the game it is that a boy.han just giving >> reporter: a team effort to help native americans move forward. >> that a boy. and that's our broadcast for this friday evening. lester holt will be here this weekend. i am ann curry in for brian williams. for all of us here at nbc news, williams. for all of us here at nbc news, thank you and good night.

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